Quest Magazine

Cassadaga: The South's Oldest Spiritualist Community

Ed. John J. Guthrie, Jr. Philip Charles Lucas, and Gary Monroe
Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000. Hardcover, xxi + 241 pages.

Cassadaga, a modest but picturesque community in east central Florida, is one of the most unusual villages in the South. The principal church in town is not of an evangelical denomination, but is Spiritualist. In it one hears not revival preaching, but talk of the soul's endless pilgrimage, and those edifying words may be the voices of departed teachers or loved ones coming to us through the lips of entranced mediums. On the street, general stores and fast-food outlets mingle with plaques advertising mediumship and New Age bookstores.

Cassadaga was established over a century ago as a southern outpost of a Spiritualist camp in upstate New York, and has retained this character through many vicissitudes down to the present, attracting seekers, practicing Spiritualists, and Spiritualist retirees. The present book, written by several hands and attractively illustrated, is a worthy tribute to this exceptional place. Though an academic book by professional scholars, it is rarely dull or inaccessible to the ordinary reader.

One great virtue of the volume is the way in which its cooperative nature enables the reader to look at Cassadaga from several angles. One finds authoritative articles on the history and basic philosophy of the community, on its architecture (with many pictures), and on the activities and spiritual biographies of prominent senior members, fascinating accounts based on extensive interviews. The book ends with a photo essay documenting mediumship, healing, and worship services at Cassadaga. 

In the past, the relations between Spiritualism and Theosophy have often been acrimonious. In particular, Theosophists from Helena Blavatsky on down have pointed out that the entities present in mediumistic seances are usually at best only partial shells of the deceased individual, and may well be deceptive elementals. These concerns are significant and cannot be ignored. At the same time, this book and my own experience as a visitor at Cassadaga make clear that Spiritualists today have much in common with Theosophists. Their bookstores carry many of the same books, their discourse uses terms familiar to Theosophists such as karma and reincarnation (controversial among Spiritualists until recently), and the Cassadaga Spiritualist church has even offered a class on Blavatsky's major work, The Secret Doctrine. Perhaps it is time for Spiritualism and Theosophy, two kindred but long estranged movements, to renew ecumenical outreach and dialogue with each other.

-ROBERT ELLWOOD

March/April 2001

Shaman, Jhankri, and Nele: Music Healers of Indigenous Cultures

By Pat Moffitt Cook
Roslyn, NY: Ellipsis Arts, 1997. Compact disc and book.

Although indigenous healers have employed music to restore health through countless centuries, these rhythms, chants, and songs seem endangered. Cook presents eighteen healing rituals recorded in Peru, northern India, Haiti, the San Bias Islands, Nepal, the Amazon, Tuva, Mexico, Korea, Panama, and Tibet.
-Daniel Ross Chandler

January/February 2001

Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 1998. Two compact discs.

Recorded during the annual Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, B'ismillah communicates the deeply moving music of this landmark event. This exceptional recording demonstrates how world-renowned artists respond to a divine presence experienced beyond artificial boundaries that separate and divide.

January/February 2001

By Shri Anandi Ma
Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 1997. Audio cassettes.

Shri Anandi Ma, a female master who performs devotional chant, presents nine ecstatic songs of praise, accompanied by harmonium, tamboura, and percussion, evoking a reverence for the sacred reality that pervades all living creation.

January/February 2001